Myer Windows and Christmas In The City

Each year the kids and I trek into the city to see the Myer Windows and usually visit Santa too. Some years I have got the timing horribly wrong and we have stood in the hot sun waiting for ages to have our turn to look at the windows.

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And while the Myer Windows maybe beautiful, the shine of the event is really quite lost after too much queuing! This year though my timing was near perfect. We went early December on a midweek afternoon.

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We had only a couple of minutes wait before we could make our way and start looking at the windows.

This year the theme is a tribute to the Rob Scotton children’s book Russell’s Christmas Magic.

When Santa and his broken sleigh are stranded in Firefly Wood, Santa is sure that Christmas will have to be cancelled. That is, until Russell the Sheep comes to the rescue! With a clatter and a bang, Russell shows that hard work and a little imagination can make a magic that is all his own.

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Each window has two distinct story lines, one with what Russell is up to and then the other with the little frogs in the corner.

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It can be hard for the kids to hear the story with all the background noise, but the button pressing always goes down well!

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There is a lot of movement and details to ponder as you make your way down the windows.

We then did some city exploring:
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Looked up to see Christmas decorations everywhere, even on the tram wires!

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Enjoyed some music from buskers in the mall.

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The kids were drawn into the florist on the ground floor of Myer on the way out. It has some gorgeous Christmas festiveness.

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And along with the decorative birds, there were also real birds that had made their way into the shop, flying and twittering about.

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Then there were lane ways to explore on our way back to the car. We had a delightful day. It helped that Melbourne was putting on some decent weather, which has been very rare lately.

If you haven’t been before you it is the Bourke Street Mall windows of Myer and they are dressed up now until Sunday 6th Januray 2013.

The windows are open from 7.30am – 1.00am daily, but the sound stops at 10.00pm (not that I could imagine taking kids that late to the Myer Windows any anyway!).

Tips for visiting Myer Windows Melbourne

Here are my top tips for making the visit to Myer Windows as fun as possible:

  • Choose a time that suits the kids, but also will be less crowded if you have little ones. This may mean tweaking your usual routine of things, like we did, but the shorter wait times are worth it.
  • Catch public transport in. We didn’t this time as we had visits both before and after, but parking is difficult and/ or expensive. The train trip for us is usually all part of the fun.
  • Feed and water before and during. Make sure the kids are well fed before you leave home, but just in case you have a long line, take some easy snacks and water to have on hand.
  • Sunscreen. Depending on the time of the day you go, you may be waiting in sun, so make sure sunscreen is applied.
  • Talk about the story before you go, borrow a copy from the library. Being able to understand what is being told through the windows and anticipate what might be in the next one makes it even more fun.
  • Enjoy the rest of the city. I love Melbourne at Christmas time. If you have the chance, explore a little and let the kids take the lead on where they would like to go.

Do you head in and see the Myer (or other store) windows in your city?